Heart's Desire
by RisuQ-theQissilent
Summary: Trapped in the world of Pokemon by a stranger she met in a dream, a young girl must overcome the challenges that lie ahead so shecan truly live! But what is this darkness that follows her and her friends-more importantly, why does it want her so badly?


For someone who had the threat of death constantly surrounding her like a Mandibuzz waiting for its prey, Heather Grandell took it pretty well.

Diagnosed with a genetic incurable heart defect at the young and semi-tender age of five, Heather's doctor declared that she would not live past twenty. Being a blissfully unaware child, Heather took the news pretty well. Her parents, however, did not. Heather was taken from her public school and was forced to live forever in her room, to the doctor's orders that she should not be introduced to stress and other situations of the like.

But Heather's life was not a lonely existence; she was the third oldest in a group of eight children. While her parents were away trying to make money for the continuous operations and treatments for Heather, she was left home alone with her other siblings.

Heather never knew the difference.

Before her other siblings were born, It was just Heather, her older brother and sister, and her parents.

Then her older brother and sister left the household suddenly, wishing to chase after their dreams of becoming pokemon trainers. It was the first time Heather had ever heard the phrase before. But it spurred her on to try and become one herself.

To the surprise of everyone, she had an amazing talent for training the creatures. Singlehandedly, she had trained the family's Poochyena so well it evolved into a Mightyena within a week of its training. Her parents were surprised, but also horrified. The strain on Heathers heart had been enough; she had passed out and remained asleep for several days afterwards.

That was it. Her parents barred her against becoming a pokemon trainer and instead urged her to focus on her studies. She complied, wanting to make them happy.

Because at that point, she realized that it was her that drove her parents to work endlessly long nights at their jobs. And it was her that drove her brother and sister away; she stole the attention with her condition.

And nothing anyone said would change her mind.

When her five younger siblings came into existence, she promised herself that she would never allow the same thing to happen to them. Even if her parents were gone, she would be their substitute; she would give them the affection and attention her parents couldn't share.

However, nothing in her life would ever allow her to forget the precious moments she had training and raising the Poochyena. It was a calling to her heart, but she chose to lock the desire away for the sake of her family.

…

"Heather…" cried a feeble voice. "I'm hungry…"

A crimson haired girl of 17 turned to look at her younger brother. With one hand she gently pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose and with the other continued to stir the spaghetti sauce on the stove. "I know, Josh. I'm almost done."

Josh, or Joshua, pouted briefly before scurrying off to fetch his younger brethren.

A bark and a meow alerted Heather to the Pokemon pets behind her. "I know. I'll feed you guys too in just a moment."

The pokemon in question perked up; The Mightena waggled its tail excitedly and the Skitty rubbed up against its masters legs.

With a sigh, Heather set the lid on the pot of food and waltzed over to the dinner table. With a swift motion, she laid out the plates and silverware in preparation for eating. Then she spun back around and grabbed two boxes of pokemon food, fluidly pouring the contents into separate bowls for Spunky and Mittens, the Mightyena and Skitty.

"Food!" Heather called out, and a stampede of feet answered her call as five hungry children scurried to the kitchen. Launching themselves at the table, they sat and stared up at Heather expectantly. Rolling her eyes, she complied with their unspoken request and served them each a pile of food.

Each dug in, savoring the unique flavor of their sister's cooking.

It was a while before any of them spoke.

"When are mommy and daddy getting home?" asked Ruth, the youngest.

"Soon." Heather lied. In truth, she never knew when they would ever get home.

"You should show mom and dad that new trick you taught Spunky!" one of the twins shouted, spraying a mouthful of noodles onto his identical brother, who hissed at him and wiped his face with his sleeve.

"Uh…No. Never." Heather said, wishing she never showed her siblings her secret hobby. "And chew with your mouth closed, Zach. Here, Adam, take the napkin. You've got crap all over your face."

"Hey, when's Mitten's going to evolve?" asked another, Sarai. "I heard Delkatys are beautiful."

"It's called a Delcatty, Sarai, and she won't evolve unless she gets a moon stone." Heather said, regurgitating knowledge she had secretly amassed from her parent's prying eyes.

A resounding "Ohhhhh" filled the kitchen as each child processed the information.

Heather stood up suddenly. "Okay. If you guys are finished, clean your plates and get ready for bed."

A grumbling filled the room that was swiftly cut off by a stern glare from Heather. "Don't you dare. I'm not having repeats of last night. Did you know kool-aide is near impossible to get out of a white carpet? I did. I should know. I spent three hours trying to scrub the mess up."

No one would argue with that, and as soon as they all finished, they complied and migrated to their separate rooms.

Heather made rounds, making sure each brother and sister was in bed and not about to go and experiment with more staining red liquids.

"Good night, Ruth." Heather pat her little sister on the head lovingly before she turned to exit the room.

"But I don't have my Bun!" the small girl protested weakly. She was referring to her stuffed Buneary doll, which Heather readily fetched from the pile of pokemon stuffed toys.

"Alright. All set?" she asked one final time.

Ruth said nothing, but looked thoughtful as she tugged gently on the buneary's fluffy arms. "What's your favorite pokemon, Heathy?"

'Heathy…?' Heather thought grimly. Nonetheless, she sat on the bed next to Ruth and thought for a bit. "Well, I really like Ghost pokemon—they always make me laugh."

Ruth frowned. She did not like Ghost pokemon; they scared her.

"But, I'd have to say, a Typhlosion. They're so fierce and majestic. They also strike me as loyal companions. I dunno. They're also really pretty. And I guess they have their own fiery charm to them too." She smiled down at her sister. "Now I really have to go. I gotta get to bed too."

Ruth nodded and snuggled under her covers, warm and content.

Heather smiled and gently got up and left.

…

Heather loved her siblings and did as much as she could to live up to her promise she made with herself about taking care of them in her parents absence. But it really got to her.

She stumbled down the stairs, gasping for air and clutching her chest tightly. "Sp-spunky… medicine…" She wheezed painfully.

The Mightyena leapt up immediately and dashed off for her medication. The Skitty wasted no time in directing Heather's near unconscious movements over to the couch, where the human collapsed in an excruciating mess. Spunky came bounding back, medicine bottle clutched tenderly in his teeth. He placed it into Heathers grasping hand, where she popped a couple of pills out and swallowed them.

A few minutes passed and the pain let up. Color returned to Heathers face and she sat up, smiling sadly. "Thanks guys." And then a grin. "Pretty close this time, right?"

The pokemon did not share her amusement. They knew very well, as did she, that unless she had taken her meds, she could've died.

"Meh. You guys worry too much." Heather let out a relaxed sigh and leaned back into the couch. Mittens hopped up onto her lap while Spunky laid down at her feet. Letting her eyes wander, her eyes caught the first and only complete family portrait her family had. Her contented smile turned into a frown.

Her family had been happy back then—they were all together—even her older brother and sister. But the number of members in the family didn't bother her. It was the features they all shared—except for her. Each member had brown or blonde hair, and not one had a pair of glasses like she did. Heather was the anomaly. Her crimson hair was red even for a red-head's standards. And her vision was terrible. Far worse than any of her family would know. It disheartened her a bit. She wondered absentmindedly if perhaps her mother had cheated on her father and conceived Heather. It would certainly explain the abnormalities Heather had—not to mention the heart defects.

It was all Heather could do to not lose it.

She loved her family dearly. But she wanted more. She wanted to go out and do what her older siblings were doing. She wanted to be a healthy girl who didn't have to be confined to her house until the day she drew her last breath—a day Heather felt was coming nearer and nearer. Always she would try and keep these feelings locked away. The last thing she wanted was to put more stress on her already shaky family.

Quietly she transferred the sleeping cat from her lap onto a pillow and tip toed around the sleeping dog.

She crept her way up the stair and past the sleeping kid's dens to her own room. Closing the door behind her, she stripped off her clothes and proceeded to get dressed into her nightgown.

She stopped when she caught herself in the mirror.

Between her breasts laid a stripe of deformed skin—a scar. Due to her previous surgeries, Heather's chest has never allowed to heal properly, thus she was left with a grotesque reminder of her own defects.

She had a figure, at least. Not an excellent figure, with large breasts and a perfect hourglass figure, but she had hips and a bit of a chest—though neither was anything to write home about. She turned away disgusted. It wasn't enough that she was going to die young, but she was going to die a virgin. No man on the planet would want the liability of a dying girlfriend, she reasoned and she slipped her nightgown over her head. Sure she had a figure (kind of) but what was it good for if she never got the chance to exercise it?

She ripped the scrunchie out of her hair, letting the long red locks fall around her body. She turned to her bed and climbed in, content to finally get a bit of shuteye. She focused her mind to not thinking about depressing things that included her eventual demise, but instead focused on what she needed to do for her sisters and brothers tomorrow, which was a school day for the youngsters. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she was blissfully unaware of the stranger outside her window, waiting for her to fall asleep.

…

The creature outside sighed in relief as the girl inside finally drifted off. Using a telekinetic power, it soundlessly opened her window and floated through.

"Hello Heather…" It whispered tenderly. "It's been a while…I'm sorry I couldn't make good on my promise sooner…" a smile found its way to the small figure's face. "Remember the time I fell into that lake? I would've drowned or gotten eaten by Carvanha. You saved me remember? And I said I'd grant you a wish someday… Well, I'm going to. Right now."

Putting a small hand on Heathers head, the creature pushed its way into her dreams.

…

"Holy Fuck I need to lay off the drugs before I go to sleep. " Heather announced to her subconscious as a burst of rather pretty colors filled her dream. At least it was a dream, and not real life. The thought vaguely comforted her.

"…_ello… c…hear…?"_

A soft voice called out, clearly not Heathers.

Frowning, Heather answered back. "Speak up! Stupid subconscious."

"_Can you hear me?"_

"Much better. Hello deeply rooted psychological portion of my head, how's it going?" Heather asked cheerily enough. Hey, it was a dream, and she was going to roll with it.

"_Tell me, what do you wish for in the whole world? The one thing you could have, what would it be?"_

"Uh…" Heather began, not sure how to answer her own mind. Would a part of her already know the answer? "Well duh… I want a new…" She trailed off on the word "heart." Was that what she wanted? Yes, but this was a dream. She could ask for anything, right? "To be someone else, maybe? To live in another place, where I don't have a heart condition, I'm not weak, and I can do the things everyone else can do. Hell, I'd even settle for being a pokemon. Honestly, I'm really not too picky right now. But you should have known that by now, right?"

The voice listened silently for a while before speaking up again. "_A…pokemon, huh?"_

"Yeah. Totally shouldn't be a problem for a figment of my dreams. Psh. Yeah right." Heather was rolling with it as hard as she could at this point.

"_Mmm… Okay. Well, to grant your wish, I need you to tell me some things."_

"Ok—fwha?" Heather did a double take. "You just did. Why would you—ah. Fuck it. Shoot."

"_Be truthful when you answer them! Are you ready? Then…let the questions begin!"_

Immediately the vibrant colors became more vivid and colorful, nearly blinding Heather completely. She stifled a surprised gasp as her eyes adjusted to the light. Which was odd, she thought considering her location.

"You're in a completely silent assembly when you suddenly hear someone pass gas! How do you react?"

If heather had been drinking something, she would have sprayed it everywhere. What the fuck kinda of question was that! But Heather shrugged it aside. On closer thinking, Heather had already experienced that kind of thing before with her siblings. She was, although it disgusted her to admit it, rather used to such an event.

"I'd just let it go by…like I usually do."

"_Your friend takes a spectacular fall! What do you do?"_

Heather rubbed her temples. If she actually had friends, this question would be easier. But nonetheless:

"Obviously, I'd help my friend up!"

"_Hmm-mm! Excellent! Your friend has made a meal that tastes terrible. They ask, "How is it?" You say...?"_

'Oh guh…' Heather began. Being of excellent culinary skills, she could almost taste the terriblness to the meal. But if she had a friend, would never admit it to their face. Heather let out a weak smile in response.

"_Me too!"_ the voice suddenly proclaimed. _"Uh, anyway…Your friends seem to be making plans to hang out, just out of earshot. You think..."_

"Pfft. No big deal. My brothers and sisters and parent always do that." Heather gave a small shrug.

"_Do you prefer to be busy or to have a lot of free time?"_

"Being Busy suits me so well, it's not even funny…"

"_Do you prefer to play outside rather than inside?"_

"FUCK YES. PLEASE." Heather let the words fall out of her mouth haphazardly. It was truth, though she never actually spent any time at all outside.

"_okay…Have you ever blurted something out without thinking about the consequences first?"_

"….Yes." came Heathers prolonged answer. Although she hated to admit her pitfalls (the ones besides her heart conditions) she was still rolling with it, and felt it'd be pointless to lie to herself.

"_Do You think you have good study habits? Be honest~"_

"Yes. A thousand times yes." Heather immediately replied.

"Alrighty! I think that's it! Thank you for answering those questions~ You seem to be…the lonely type, at least a little bit! You might find that surprising, but do you think it might be a little true?"

Heather could only stare. THAT was what the questions were for? A personality quiz? She could've easily guessed that about herself anyway! Holding back a silent rage against herself, she resolved to let the voice in her head finish.

"You know what they say, though…We're all a bit lonely every now and then! You probably keep this fact of life to yourself though. But if there's one thing that brings us all together…it's our need to go it solo!"

Heather sighed in agreement. But she was annoyed that her subconscious decided to fuck with her like this. Couldn't she just have conjured up another wonderful nightmare? Those were at least entertaining.

But suddenly, the colors began to swirl and pull Heather in.

The voice seemed to not notice and continue, though its words became increasingly more garbled and unintelligible.

"_So…lonely…type like…be a…p…"_

"What? I can't hear you!" Heather called back.

"_Oh no! …on! Keep…self…believe…find each other!"_

"Wait, what? 'find each other?' I can't hear you dammit!"

"_Wait…for me…Heather…"_

It was then as the colors swept Heathers mind into oblivion that what she had gone through wasn't just a dream. But she was left with no time to ponder the significance as her thoughts faded to black.

…

**And so begins my little monstrocity. Which I had to rewrite several times, each oen fearing Heather would take on the grotesque form of a Mary Sue. Please. No. just no.**

**Instead of writing more Portal fanfiction, I decided to divulge from the path and do this instead. Because clearly I can't ever get enough of Pokemon.**

**The rating will change. Mark my words. **

**Also, I did not rig the personality quiz. The questions were randomized and I answered them just like Heather would. It's not my fault she's ending up as what she's ending up as. Uh. You'll see. Hopefully this will be cute, funny, maybe even sensual down the line, and a sort of interesting take on the Mystery Dungeon universe. Which I always wished had more romance. Tee hee.**

**I appreciate reviews. Really I do. Even criticism. That works too. **


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